Liz McManus
Question:13 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Health and Children the steps he intends to take to deal with the shortage of midwives in the greater Dublin area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25589/01]
Vol. 543 No. 1
13 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Health and Children the steps he intends to take to deal with the shortage of midwives in the greater Dublin area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25589/01]
47 Mr. McGrath asked the Minister for Health and Children the reason a crisis has developed in the availability of midwives in the three Dublin maternity hospitals. [25558/01]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 13 and 47 together.
In response to a request from the Irish Nurses Organisation, I have established a special forum to examine the current difficulties being experienced by the three Dublin maternity hospitals in recruiting and retaining midwives.
The forum includes representatives of the three maternity hospitals, my Department, the Health Service Employers Agency, the Eastern Regional Health Authority and the nursing unions. It held its first meeting on 19 October, and has been asked to report back to me as a matter of urgency with recommendations to address the current difficulties.
There are parallel discussions taking place between the three maternity hospitals and the Eastern Regional Health Authority regarding service issues.
I want to set the record straight in relation to the extent of the midwifery shortages in the Dublin area. Media reports of 110 midwifery posts vacant in the three Dublin maternity hospitals are incorrect. Information received by my Department recently indicates that while the three hospitals are short 84 midwives, the net vacancy situation is actually 54 posts, when account is taken of the number of registered general nurses that have been employed by the hospitals.
The reasons for the present staffing difficulties have been identified by the steering group overseeing the study of the nursing and midwifery resource. In its interim report, the steering group indicated that the shortage of nurses is most acute in the Dublin area where the cost of housing and traffic problems are making it increasingly difficult not only to recruit but also to retain nurses and midwives. The ongoing development of specialist health services throughout the country has also swelled the traditional movement of nurses from the Dublin area.